Every device ______in the plane must be designed and made with great care so as to make sure that nothing goes wrong in operation.

 A. fitted           B. to be fitted      C. fitting          D. being fitted

In the age of reality television, success isn’t the only way to the public eye. Failure can also create fame, just like William Hung, 21, a native of Hong Kong.

Hung recently has made an agreement with US-based entertainment firms Koch Records and Fuse Music Network. They will publish a full-length record, titled “The True Idol” on April 6.

The idol is a civil engineering student at the University of California at Berkeley. He did a version of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” on the television show “American Idol 3”, on January 27. The Fox TV singing contest searches for pop stars among ordinary people. In the case of Hung, however, his act was so bad that the judges cut him off in mid-act.

Hung’s response? “I already gave my best, so I have no regrets at all.” That’s good, because any common person would have found plenty to regret: The off-key singing. The blue Hawaiian shirt worn with pants pulled up too high. The terrible dancing. The hips jerking (搖擺) to a beat that did not belong to the song, maybe not even to this planet. It was, by all accounts, bad.But, it was this very bad act that sold well.Marc Juris, president of Fuse, explained it this way: “Every one of us is happily guilty of singing our favorite song at the top of our lungs with complete freedom, completely off-key and completely unworried. That’s what William did and immediately won the hearts of America.”

Whatever it is, for the moment it’s big. Three websites devoted to Hung have gone up on the Internet in the past few weeks. Versions of his performance have been remixed with hip hop and techno-music and have made it to the top 10 request list at a Chicago radio station.So, what does Hung think of this?

“There were all these people saying things about me. A lot were saying I was very courageous and that I was great on the show, but some didn’t have much respect for me and some were kind of mean.”

Now he says he’s not so sure whether to distance himself from the glamour (魅力) or to accept it. Returning to normal hasn’t been easy.

13.What is the main idea of this passage?

A.Sometimes an idol behaves quite foolishly.  

B.Hung’s performance attracted the public eye.

C.How an unsuccessful person became famous.

D.Success sometimes does not require hard work.

14.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 7 refer to?

A.William Hung.     B.Hung’s bad act.   C.Hung’s website.    D.The public’s opinion.

15.Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened to Hung?

a.The entertainment firms made an agreement with Hung.

b.The judges cut Hung off in mid-act in the singing contest.

c.Hung became popular among Americans.

d.Hung gave a terrible performance though he tried his best.

e.Three websites put Hung’s funny performance on the Internet.

A.d, b, e, c, a       B.a, c, d, b, e        C.a, d, b, c, e          D.d, b, a, e, c

16.Why was Hung able to win the hearts of America?

A.His success was based on his own hard work.

B.He attracted people’s attention in the contest.

C.He was good-looking though he didn’t sing well.

  D.His character was completely different from other idols’.

Who are these people rushing by you in the street? More than 215 million people now call America “home”, but most of them can trace their families back to other parts of the world. If you look at the names on shop windows, you will see that Americans come from many different lands. The idea that these people, who once were strangers to the United States, have lost the customs and cultures of their original countries and have become “American” is really not true. In fact, what exists in America is more often a kind of “side-by-side” living in which groups of people from other countries often have kept many of their customs and habits. They join the general American society only in certain areas of their lives—such as in schools, business, and sports—but they keep many of their own native customs and manners socially and at home. This living “side-by-side” has both advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes it may cause disagreements to develop between groups whose ways of life are very different from one another. However, there are also great advantages that come from the variety of cultures brought by settlers from other lands. There is great freedom of choice among ideas and dress, food, and social customs in America. Everyone can find some part of his or her familiar world in the United States, in churches, music, food, national groups, or newspapers.

6. More than 215 million people call America “home” because_______.

A. they buy their houses there     B. they settle there now

C. they get married there         D. they were born there

7. “Side-by-side” living style means _______.

A. making friends with native people B. keeping their own customs while sharing American ones in certain areas

C. the groups of people who live nearby  D. that they get closer to American society

8. According to the passage, people in the USA ________.

A. share American customs and culture     B. live in a kind of “side-by-side” society

C. keep their own customs and habits firmly  D. make no choice to accept American customs

9. Which of the following statements is true?

A. They always stick to their own customs and habits.  B. “Side-by-side” living style is not suitable.

C. They face the society they are not familiar with.

D. The advantages coming from the variety of cultures make life in America colorful.

10. Which title of the following can best take the place of “Different Cultures in America”?

A. Advantages and Disadvantages.     B. Different Customs and Habits.

C. Home for the People.              D. “Side-by-side” Living Style in America.

YOU don’t need millions to be happy. In fact, at The Happiness Institute in Australia, a couple of hundred dollars may be enough.

The institute opened its doors last year, and, since then, men and women of all ages have been paying A$200 an hour (US$140) for l essons on how to feel great.

“You can actually increase your happiness levels. That’s what we teach,” said Timothy Sharp, founder of the institute.

Experts say that only about 15 per cent of happiness comes from income, assets and other financial factors. As much as 85 per cent comes from things such as attitude, life control and relationships.

Most of us are significantly better off financially than our parents and grandparents, but happiness levels haven’t changed to reflect that.

Studies show that once the basic needs of shelter and food are met, additional wealth adds very little to happiness.

Many decades ago, the “sage of Baltimore, Maryland”, editor HL Mencken, defined wealth as earning US$100 more than your “wife’s sister’s husband.”

Behavioral economists now say part of the reason we are richer but not happier is because we compare ourselves to people better off materially.

“The argument is that if you want to be happy there’s a very simple thing you can do: Compare yourself to people who are less well off than you — poorer, smaller house, car,” said Sharp.

The Happiness Institute aims to show you how to overcome these unhappiness factors by focusing on “more than just your bank account.”

“If I compare myself to Bill Gates then I’m always going to be down,” said Sharp.

A better thing to compare with, he said, might be Kerry Packer, Australia’s richest person who has had a kidney transplant and heart surgery in recent years.

1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

  A. You can increase your happiness levels by attending the classes at the Happiness Institute.

  B. Most of us are happier than our parents or grandparents since we earn more.

  C. Earning US$ 100 more than your wife’s sister’s husband if you want to be happy.

  D. Both Bill Gates and Kerry Packer are examples of those who are extremely rich but obviously unhappy.

2. The underlined phrase has the same meaning as the word _______.

  A. healthy          B. unhealthy          C. free           D. wealthy

3. The author wrote the passage to tell us _______.

  A. happiness is everything

  B. wealth is the foundation of happiness

  C. have fun at the Happiness Institute

  D. money doesn’t always mean happiness

It is over 40 years since first atomic bomb was dropped on a major city in Japan. Yet even now its effects are showing themselves and may continue to do so for years to come. Much effort and human energy have been used to try to prevent such a terrifying thing from happening again. So far there is no guarantee that it will not. Countries which already possess nuclear knowledge and resources have bombs stored away which are powerful enough to wipe out all life on earth. But this is not all. Other countries, which previously were not so advanced in technology, are gradually buying materials that can be used for making atomic devices. This nuclear energy will naturally be of great value in helping the economy of poorer nations.

The generation of electricity through nuclear power came directly from the original work on the atom bomb. Because of the increase in demand for energy and the possibility of decreasing supplies of oil and natural gas, the interest in electricity has increased. One of the by-products of nuclear power stations is plutonium (鈽) produced from unclear fuel: plutonium is ingredient (成分) in bomb-making. It means that there are far more opportunities for the manufacture of bombs.

This brings the problem to a full circle again. How can something so valuable and useful be controlled so that it works for the benefit and not the destruction of man?

9. The effects of dropping the first atomic bomb ________.

A. are not over                      B. may go on forever    

C. could last much longer             D. will not be over in the near future

10. The writer says that enough atomic bombs have already been manufactured to ________.

A. wipe out Japan                    B. last forever    

C. act as a peace-keeping device       D. destroy all living things

11. The advantage of less developed countries being able to make atomic devices is that it ______.

A. gives them more opportunities for work     B. will help poor countries to become richer

C. will enable them to make better explosives    D. will be of great value to them

12. The second paragraph tells us that the increased demand for electricity today ________.

A. has led to the decrease in supplies of oil

B. means that more countries are interested in nuclear power

C. has increased the risk of accidental explosions

D. has increased the very means of producing more atomic bombs

—— Sorry, I forget to post the letter for you.

—— Never mind, ＿＿＿＿＿ it myself tonight.

A.I’m going to post   B.I’ve decided to post C.I’ll post     D.I’d rather post

The traffic in our city is already good and it ＿＿＿even better.

A.gets     B.got     C.has got     D.is getting

I’ve won a holiday for two to Florida.I ＿＿＿＿＿ my mum.

A.take     B.am taking  C.have taken     D.will have taken

When his brother telephoned him last night, he＿＿＿＿＿asleep.

A.kept     B.got     C.fall     D.fell

Little Jim’s speech sounds ＿＿＿＿＿.

A.friendly     B.wonderfully  C.pleasantly     D.nicely